Relations Between Red Edge Characteristics and Agronomic Parameters of Crops

The hyperspectral reflectance of the canopy and the leaves on the main stem for six varieties, two each of rice, corn, and cotton crops, were measured at different growth stages with an ASD FieldSpec Pro FR?to analyze red edge characteristics for leaf area indices (LAI), aboveground biomass, as well as the chlorophyll, carotenoid, and nitrogen content, emphasizing comparative differences on the red edge parameters. The results showed a 'double peak' phenomenon for the red edge of the canopy spectra but not for the leaves. There were 'increase' and 'decrease' change rules for the red edge position, λr, the red edge slope, Dλr, and the red edge area, Sr, of the canopy spectra for all 3 crops with a 'blue shift' for λr of the leaf spectra for all 3 crops as the development stages progressed. For rice, corn, and cotton the LAI and fresh leaf mass had highly significant correlations (P 0.01) to the red edge parameters λr, Dλr, and Sr of their canopy spectra. Additionally, for all crops the chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid content of the leaves all had highly significant (P 0.01) correlations to their λr. For rice, the nitrogen content of the leaves in g kg-1 and phytomass for a unit area of land in g m-2 also had a highly significant (P 0.01) correlation to λr, Dλr, and Sr of the canopy spectra.